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(No Model.)

T. G. 8v J. H. OTTERSON.

FRUIT JAR.

No. 338,185. Patented Mar. 16, 1 886.

' Azffbrney I FETER$ Pho hear-when wanm n c NITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

THOMAS G. OTTERSON AND JOHN H. OTTERSON, OF WOODBURY, N. J.

FRUIT-JAR.-

SPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,185, dated March 16, 1886.

Application filed December 2, 1885. Serial No. 184,453. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, THOMAS G. OTTERSON and JOHN H. OT'rERsoN, of Woodbury, in the county of Gloucester and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FruitJars; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to an improvement in fruit-jars.

Hitherto it has been customary to provide the neck of a glass jar with a screw-threaded shoulder on the upper end of the neck to receive a flexible gasket, place a glass or metal cap over the mouth, the flanged edge of the cap resting on the gasket, and then press the cap down onto the gasket by means of a femalethreaded ring adapted to engage the threads on the neck of the jar and bear on the top of the cap around itsouter edge. In the place of the securingring a clampingyoke and thumbscrew have in some instances been used to press the cap into contact with the gasket. The latter construction has proved defective on account of its liability to break the lid or jar, and also on account of the yoke and thumbscrew being in the Way in packing, and the former construction has proved objectionable on account of the number of different pieces to be handled separately, and the difficulty experienced in forming a perfectly tight joint when the pressure of the securingring chanced to be greater on one portion of the edge of the cap than on another. To overcome these objections in some degree, the glass cap has been attached to the securing-ring by means of a bead pressed into the edge of the cap, which of course caused the loss of both ring and lid when either one became broken or damaged, and the use of several pieces has been sought to be done away with also by the so-called porcelain lining of a metallic cap, which, while accomplishing the reduction of the number of pieces, has failed in another very important feature, since it does not prevent the juice from working into the threads on the cap and sticking them to the jar.

The object of our present invention is to provide a jar which shall be free from the obwith a screw-thread, a.

jectionable features of those hitherto in use, and which shall effectually preserve the fruit and be convenient to handle and pack, while the cost of manufacture shall be but atrifle, if anything, above the cost of those now in use.

WVith these ends in view our invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a portion of ajar with cap in position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the centre; and Fig. 3 is a detached view of the lid and cap.

A represents the neck of a jar provided The upper end of the neck is provided with ashoulder, B, on which is seated the gasket 0. The flange b, which extends upwardly around the inner edge of the neck, is provided with a bead, b, on its outer face, which, in conjunction with the shoulder B, forms a groove, b, around the neck, into which the inner edge of the gasket draws when the same is adjusted on its seat.

D represents the lid. It is preferably constructed of glass, and is provided with a depending annular flange, d, adapted to shut down over the flange b and rest on the gasket 0. The central top portion of the lid is depressed, as shown at E, and from the center of the depressed portion the male threaded perforated teat or boss F extends upwardly. A metallic cap, G, is provided with a female thread, 9, on the inside of its downwardlyextending rim, which thread is adapted to engage the male-threaded neck of the jar, and thereby draw the top of the cap down onto the top of the lid. The central portion of the top of the cap is depressed, as shown at H, somewhat more than the depression in the top of the lid, and at the center of the said depressed portion is a perforation, h, which fits loosely over the teat or boss F.

From the above construction it will be observed that as the cap is screwed down onto the jar the depressed portion of its top will first press downwardly on the central portion of the lid D, and this pressure will be evenly distributed around the edge of the lid resting on. the gasket, thereby obviating the liability of leaving some portion of the gasket slightly is protected by the metallic cap, and the vent and other portions closely compressed, and also rendering the pressure required to insure an air-tight joint much less than would be required were the pressure applied on the edge of the lid. vided with a screw-cap, I, having a laterallyextending flange or thick lower edge, '5, and an elastic cushion, 7c, seated in its top, adapted to close the perforation Z in the boss when the cap I is screwed on. The lower end of the cap I is larger than the circumference of the perforation h, and the cap thus serves to lock the lid D to the metallic cap G, so that when the latter is unscrewed the lid and cap may be removed as one piece.

The above-described means for locking the lid to the cap G serves also to automatically center the lid when the cap G is screwed on, rendering the combination of the lid and cap as easy to adjust and remove as a cap alone. Thejuice of the fruit is completely excluded from contact with the threads of the metallic cap, and hence the cap may be at any time readily screwed on or off. The top of the jar in the teat or boss admits of a perfect exclusion of the air and the escape of the gases when their pressure becomes too great. The

outer portion of the top of the cap G only comes in contact with the lid D when the cap is screwed well down, or it may not touch'it at all, and thus the pressure on the lid is entirely. or for the most part, on the center thereof.

The threaded teat or boss F is pro.-

The pressure of the lid on the gasket also tends to swell the inner edge of the gasket, l

and thereby cause it to fill the groove in which it is located and form a very effective joint against the transmission of moisture beneath the gasket.

Having fully described our invention, What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a jar having a threaded neck and a lid provided with a depressed central portion, and with a teat or boss extending upwardly from its center, of a metallic screw-cap having a central portion somewhat more depressed than the central portion of the lid, the cap being pivotally secured on the said teat or boss and engaging the screw-threads on the neck of the jar, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the jar having a threaded neck, the gasket seated on a shoulder and extending into a groove formed by the shoulder and beaded neck, and the lid having a central perforated teat or boss, of the screw-cap pivotally mounted on the teat or boss, and the smaller cap adapted to engage the teat or boss and secure the larger cap to the lid, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS G. OTTERSON. JOHN H. OTTERSON.

W'itnesses:

T. F. BOARDMAN, AMEs M. SPEED. 

